We need our software to perform optimally. If the software takes excessive time to load or stalls while performing, the users will simply switch it off. If you are losing customers then you are losing business to your competition. This article on “Performance Testing Tools” will let you know about the different software testing tools in the following sequence:

What is Performance Testing?

Performance Testing is a type of software testing which ensures that the application is performing well under the workload. The goal of performance testing is not to find bugs but to eliminate performance bottlenecks. It measures the quality attributes of the system.

Stability – It determines if the application is stable under varying loads.

Now let’s move ahead with our “Performance Testing Tools” article and have a look at why do we need performance testing.

Top 10 Performance Testing Tools | Edureka

Why do we need Performance Testing?

Performance testing informs the stakeholders about the speed, scalability, and stability of their application.

It reveals the necessary improvements needed before the product is released in the market.

Performance Testing also ensures that the software is not running slow while several users are using it simultaneously.

It also checks the inconsistency across different operating systems.

These were just a few out of the many reasons why we need performance testing. Now let’s move ahead with our “Performance Testing Tools” article and have a look at the different advantages of it.

Advantages of Performance Testing

Validate Features – Performance testing validates the fundamental features of the software. A solid software foundation is a key principle of generating software success. Measuring the performance of basic software functions allows business leaders to make key decisions about the setup of the software.

Measure the speed, accuracy, and stability – Measuring performance speed, accuracy and stability is a vital aspect of software performance testing. It helps you in monitoring the crucial components of your software under duress. This can give you vital information on how the software will be able to handle scalability.

Keep your users happy – Measuring application performance allows you to observe how your customers respond to your software. The advantage is that you can pinpoint critical issues before your customers.

Identify discrepancies – Measuring performance provides a buffer for developers before release. Any issues are likely to be magnified once they are released. Performance testing allows any issues to be ironed out.

Improve optimization and load capability – Another benefit of performance testing is the ability to improve optimization and load capacity. Measuring performance can help your organization deal with volume so your software can cope when you hit high levels of users.

Types of Performance Testing

The different types of performance testing are:

Load testing – It checks the application’s ability to perform under anticipated user loads. The objective is to identify performance bottlenecks before the software application goes live.

Stress testing – This involves testing an application under extreme workloads to see how it handles high traffic or data processing. The objective is to identify the breaking point of an application.

Endurance testing – It is done to make sure the software can handle the expected load over a long period of time.

Spike testing – This tests the software’s reaction to sudden large spikes in the load generated by users.

Volume testing – Under Volume Testing large no. of. Data is populated in a database and the overall software system’s behavior is monitored. The objective is to check the software application’s performance under varying database volumes.

Scalability testing – The objective of scalability testing is to determine the software application’s effectiveness in scaling up to support an increase in user load. It helps plan capacity addition to your software system.

Top 10 Performance Testing Tools

The market is full of a number of tools for test management, performance testing, GUI testing, functional testing, etc. I would suggest you opt for a tool which is on-demand, easy to learn as per your skills, generic and effective for the required type of testing. Let’s have a look at the top 10 performance testing tools:

1. LoadNinja

It allows you to create scriptless sophisticated load tests and reduces testing time by half. It also replaces load emulators with real browsers and gets actionable, browser-based metrics at ninja speed. LoadNinja empowers teams to increase their test coverage without giving up on the quality by removing the tedious efforts of dynamic correlation, script translation, and script scrubbing.

Features

Protocols

Scriptless load test creation & playback

Real browser load test execution at scale

VU Debugger debug tests in real time

VU Inspector manages virtual user activity in real time

It is hosted on the cloud

Browser-based metrics with analytics and reporting features

HTTP

HTTPS

SAP GUI Web

WebSocket

Java-based protocol

Google Web Toolkit

Oracle forms

2. Apache JMeter

JMeter is an open source tool that can be used for performance and load testing for analyzing and measuring the performance of a variety of services. This tool is mainly used for web and web service applications.

3. WebLOAD

WebLOAD is an enterprise-scale load testing tool. It features a comprehensive IDE, Load Generation Console, and a sophisticated Analytics Dashboard. This is a web and mobile load testing and analysis tool from RadView Software.

Features

Protocols

Flexible test scenario creation

Supports every major web technology

Powerful correlation engine

Automatic bottleneck detection

Generate load on-premise or in the cloud

Native JavaScript scripting

HTTP

HTTPS

XML

Enterprise applications

Network Technology

Server Technologies

4. LoadUI Pro

LoadUI Pro allows you to quickly create scriptless sophisticated load tests, distribute them on cloud using load agents and monitor the performance of your servers as you increase the load on them. You can access detailed reports and quickly automate your load tests.

Features

Protocols

Scriptless Load test creation

Preconfigured load test templates like spike, baseline, stress, smoke

Drag and drop load tests on distribution agents on cloud

Sophisticated analytics and statists features for reporting

Quick conversion of functional tests

HTTP

REST

SOAP

JSON

API Blueprint

JSON Schema

XML Schema

5. LoadView

LoadView utilizes real browser-based load testing for websites, web applications, and APIs. It creates multi-step scripts that simulate users interacting with your website or application. With LoadView by Dotcom-Monitor, you can show the actual performance of your applications under load.

Features

Protocols

Cloud-based load testing in real browsers

Supports Rich Internet Applications

Quickly and easily build test scripts without touching a line of code

Test compatibility on mobile browsers and devices

Identify bottlenecks and ensure scalability

Performance metrics and reports that can be shared with various internal stakeholders

Flash

Silverlight

Java

HTML5

PHP

Ruby

6. NeoLoad

NeoLoad is an innovative performance testing platform designed to automate test design, maintenance, and analysis for Agile and DevOps teams. It integrates with continuous delivery pipelines to support performance testing.

7. LoadRunner

LoadRunner is a software testing tool from Micro Focus. It is used to test applications, measuring system behavior, and performance under load. It can simulate thousands of users concurrently using application software.

Features

Protocols

Lower hardware and software costs by accurately predicting system capacity

It Pinpoints the root cause of application performance problems quickly and accurately

8. Silk Performer

Silk Performer tool is an enterprise class load and stress testing tool and has the ability to test multiple application environments with the thousands of concurrent users. It also supports the widest range of protocols.

Features

Protocols

It requires minimum hardware resources

Simulates modifiable virtual users

Supports integrated server monitoring

This has Customer friendly licensing

Correlation and Parameterization is user-friendly

No License requirement for Controllers

This Handles Load Test in the project approach

HTTP/HTML

HTTPS/HTML

HTTP/HTTPS,

Flash

Email (SMTP/ POP)

FTP, TCP/IP, LDAP

XML/SOAP

9. AppLoader

AppLoader is a load testing solution designed for business applications. It allows you to test any application by reproducing the same user experience from all your access points.

Features

Protocols

AppLoader allows you to test the entire business flow

This replicates the users’ interactions with your application

Scripts are created automatically when you use your application

Citrix XenApp

XenDesktop

Cloud-based Infrastructure

EHR Systems

Customer Applications

10. SmartMeter.io

SmartMeter.io is an alternative to JMeter and aims to fix its drawbacks. It allows for easy scriptless test scenario creation using the so-called Recorder, yet still lets you make advanced edits of the test. It also excels in test reporting and makes use of functions.

With this, we have come to the end of the top 10 performance testing tools list. I hope you guys enjoyed this article and got an idea about the best tools available for performance testing.

Now that you know about the different performance testing tools, check out the Performance Testing Using JMeter Course by Edureka, a trusted online learning company with a network of more than 250,000 satisfied learners spread across the globe. This course provides you insights into software behavior during workload. In this course, you will learn how to check the response time and latency of software and test if a software package is efficient for scaling. The course will help you check the strength and analyze the overall performance of an application under different load types. Got a question for us? Please mention it in the comments section of “Performance Testing Tools” and we will get back to you.

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